Undocumented Immigrants To Become Eligible To Get Driver’s Licenses In California

AB60, a bill which would make undocumented immigrants in California eligible to get driver's licenses, passed on Thursday in the state legislature. That's not the first time it's done so - previous years have seen it approved by the California Senate and Assembly but vetoed by the governor. But current California Governor Jerry Brown says whenever the bill comes to his desk, he'll put an end to a fight which has dragged on through the terms of several of his predecessors. "This bill will enable millions of people to get to work safely and legally," said Brown in a statement issued just after the Assembly voted. "Hopefully, it will send a message to Washington that immigration reform is long past due."

The 55-29 vote on the bill by the Assembly on Thursday evening came a few hours after the Senate approved it 28-8, on the last day of this year's legislative sessions. It came as a surprise even to the author of the bill, Democratic Assemblyman Luis Alejo, who had signaled that he would hold off on introducing his bill to the Assembly floor due to opposition from immigrant advocates. These groups had objected to a provision in the bill which would give licenses granted to undocumented immigrants a different designation than those given to citizens or immigrants with legal status. Advocates said the atypical look of the license would lead to discrimination against some 2 million undocumented to become newly eligible for them. But Latino legislators who saw the bill as a step in the right direction persuaded immigrant-rights groups to drop their objections. "AB60 is not perfect, but it moves our state in the right direction," Democratic Senator Ricardo Lara, chairman of the Latino Legislative Caucus, told the Associated Press. "The alternative is a status quo system that continues to penalize hardworking families with tickets, court fees and car impoundments. These families deserve better."

According to NBC, the cards will indicate that the ID is only good for driving and that it is not a valid form of identification for employment, voting or seeking public benefits. "In essence, it puts a big flag on the card that this is not for a person that is in this country legally," Republican Assemblywoman Diane Harkey told reporters after the vote. "So I kind of question the purpose of the bill.'' Other Republican opponents of the bill said it would force employers and landlords to choose between complying with state or federal law.

California will become the 11^th state in the United States to allow undocumented immigrants to apply for licenses, along with Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Maine, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont and Washington.

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